In general street lamps and their associated circuits are operated by “dusk to dawn” devices known as photoelectric cells and are sometimes described as photo-electronic light controllers or photocells.
An ambient light sensor senses pre-determined levels of “dusk and dawn” light and transfers this information to nowadays electronic circuits that when incident light falling on the light sensor is below pre-set values the electronic circuit activates a switching means. The ambient light sensor is mounted within an aesthetically designed enclosure bearing in mind that its cover must transfer the ambient light to the light sensor. This enclosure is cylindrical in design so as to facilitate windage and the cover is designed to be conical so as to be self-cleaning and inhibit bird perching.
The light sensor, the electronic sensing circuit and switching means is mounted with this cylindrical enclosure and sealed so as to inhibit the ingress of water, moisture and dust. The functionality of existing photocells used in street lamps is limited to lighting applications.
In addition it is desirable for a City Municipality to monitor street lamps to ensure each lamp is operating at maximum efficiency. It is now vital that Municipalities can manage remotely their entire street lighting asset including their energy usage. On a number of occasions each year the Municipality or City Councils must carry out a visual inspection of each street light, the major problem with this exercise is there is no visual evidence only written evidence as to the street light condition. Another scouting team has to perform a similar task for the pavement and for the road or street and again only written evidence (may be the reason for road and street potholes). Other problems for Municipality or City Councils is crime or traffic accidents that occur on streets. Various remote solutions have been proposed, including mounting a camera with a photocell. For example, EP 2827578; US2011/0134239; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,886,738 and 6,462,775 attempt to solve some of these problems, however no solution to date provides a comprehensive and effective solution for Municipality or City Councils. A further problem with monitoring and capturing data obtained from a camera is the huge amount of redundant data that is generated and needs to be transmitted over a network, with the result that additional bandwidth is required.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved street lamp with extra functionality and revenue earning capacity for municipalities.